The Howling of the Wind
by Inunette
Summary: Kagome and her longtime friend, Sango, wind up in a strange world filled with demons, magic and a certain good-looking hanyou trying to kidnap Kagome. What does he want with her? What happened to a normal teen life? Rated M for violence, character death, lemons (if I possibly can!) and more to come...
1. Prologue

The Howling of the Wind

_Prologue:_

The winds were howling, galloping, roaring. She had forgotten how loud they were. It seemed like ages since Kagome had last been to the very peak of the mountain on which she now lived. As she walked among the tombs, her footprints clear in the otherwise untouched snow, she studied them and tried to remember the faces of her loved ones, but time and a decaying mind made it hard for her to hold on to the images of her old friends. Warm amber eyes were the only things she would never forget. A flash of white hair. A blur of red firerat. She had loved him so very dearly. She had loved him and he had died. She had let him die. She had let her friend, her lover, her husband and companion die. If only she had come sooner.

She furrowed her already wrinkled brow and raised a shaking hand to brush away a loose strand of white hair. Once her hair had been black as night, but ever since her 45 birthday, it had gradually turned white. The past 10 years had been hard on Kagome, but before those, she had aged with grace and elegance. Now, her back was crooked and bend, and she was unable to stand tall and proud. Hunger and too much work had given her an unhealthy and unnourished look. She tried to hold her ragged clothing, which had once been a beautiful black gown, tight around her small form, but it was no match against the roaring of the northern winds.

Kagome walked past the first set of gravestones, where Sango and Miroku were buried with their first child, a stillborn girl. It had been Sango's last wish. She clung on to life longer than the others, so she could pass her wish on to someone living. Kagome had been that living someone. She had clutched Sango's hand in hers, as Sango struggled to convey her last words and demanded Kagome's promise. Kagome had complied and cried as she watched her friend slip away.  
As she passed the stones, she caressed them, welcoming the cold of their touch. Despite her ragged clothing, her old bones and the freezing weather, she didn't acknowledge the cold. Soon she would be reunited with her friends, so she cared little about her condition and appearance. Even though they had all died 10 years ago, leaving her to her agonizing loneliness, she loved them all dearly. Sango, Miroku and Shippou. Why, even Kouga had snatched a little piece of her heart, though she would never have admitted it. But the biggest chunk of her heart belonged to one man, and one man only. To _him_ she owed everything: Her life, her freedom and the life of her children. Oh, she could almost see him now – sense him – as she stood there, touching his grave with her eyes closed and tears tumbling down her cheeks.

"…Inuyasha…" The call was soft and could not be heard. The winds were still howling.


	2. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1:_

Kagome awoke with a startled cry. Lately she'd had these strange dreams. Images of red, gold and white flashing before her eyes and the feeling of a deep and shattering sorrow. As if she had lost everything. The dreams left her frustrated, because the images escaped her the moment she awoke and left her with a feeling of something important slipping out of her hands.

She got up intending to take a shower, hoping the warm water would wash away her sleepiness and the thin sheen of sweat covering her body. She moved towards the bathroom still deep in thought. Why did these dreams come to her? It was always so cold in her dreams. And filled with despair. The first couple of times she had had the disturbing dreams, she had woken up with tears streaming down from her eyes and into her soft dark curls. But lately she had gotten used to them, even though they still exhausted her.

Absentmindedly she jumped into the shower and made quick work of washing her hair with her favorite shampoo. It had a hint of vanilla and something else that she couldn't quite determine, but it had a homey and comforting smell.

"KAGOME?!"

Kagome froze in the shower. _Damn it!_ She thought to herself. It was her mother returning from the hospital. She had probably seen her shoes and jacket still in the hallway and put two and two together.

"KAGOME, IT'S 7.45 AND IF I DON'T SEE YOU DOWN HERE IN 3 SECONDS, YOU WILL BE CLEANING UP THE WELL HOUSE AFTER SCHOOL!" Akira roared from downstairs.

Kagome jumped out of the shower, took one look in the mirror and immediately gave up on taming her hair and putting on makeup. Natural would have to do for today.

"I'll be down in a minute, mom!" She cried back while frantically searching for her school uniform. Damn Souta for not waking her when he stood up!

"I said 3 seconds, not a minute." She heard her mother grumble. She rolled her eyes. Akira was always cranky when she returned from 12 hour shifts. Kagome snatched her school bag from her room, hoped she had had the sense to pack the right school supplies for today the night before and ran down the stairs to meet her mothers judging stare.

Akira was a beautiful woman in her late thirties. She had short brown hair with soft curls and big, brown and caring eyes, eyes that her daughter had inherited. She was a petite woman, but with beautiful curves and a lovely heart shaped face, which was currently set in a deep and disapproving frown, much to her daughters dismay. Being a single mother had made it impossible for her to gain weight, since she had always been busy with either work, chores or being a mother as well as a father to her children. Akria had often thought of finding a new husband for her own sake and her family's, but there was never time and despite her hectic life, she was happy. She had two beautiful children and a loving, albeit rather senile father.  
Underneath her normal nurse outfit, she wore a pair of simple denim jeans and a pale pink button up shirt. A simple outfit, but it suited her and she never liked being overdressed.

"Really, it's the first day of school! You're not making a very good first impression on your teachers. Don't make a habit out if this, Kagome, or I'll make good on my threat." Akira watched her eldest with a stern eye. Kagome didn't doubt that she was dead serious and she really didn't want to clean the well house. No one had been out there for years.

* * *

Kagome jumped off the school bus and looked around for her friends. Her black hair was tumbling in the late autumn breeze and she tugged on the skirt of her school uniform self-consciously. She wasn't about to do a Marilyn Monroe on her first day of school, and the winds certainly weren't of any help. Her chocolate-brown orbs were scanning the street for Sango, but all she could see was unfamiliar and eager students.

"Kagome!" A familiar voice called. She turned around and saw Sango running towards her with her kid brother, Kohaku, in tow. Poor Kohaku could hardly keep up with his sister's long strides.

"Sango! Kohaku!" Kagome waved and grinned at her best friend and the spectacle she and her brother made.

"Sango, I can walk on my own! You don't have to hold my hand when we cross the streets anymore. I'm almost eleven!" Kohaku exclaimed, while glaring at his older sister and afterwards sending Kagome an apologetic glance. He was small for his age, a frail child, who often became sick and because of that he had obtained his sister's fierce protection. He had dark brown hair, like his sister, and big brown eyes, which were at this moment fixed on Sango. Despite his frail appearance, hate of violence and love of flowers and animals, he tried to aspire to become somewhat like his fiery sister, and more often than not he would send admiring looks her way, when he thought no one was watching.

All that Kohaku lacked, Sango had doubled. She was strong, confident and mature for her age. Their mother's death had toughened her and made her the female alpha of her family at the early age of 14. When Kohaku had been scarred or sad, he had crept into Sango's bed at night, letting her comfort and reassure him.

Sango turned to her little brother, putting her hands in her sides and made her best I-don't-wanna-discuss-this!-face – and did so very convincingly. Kagome certainly didn't want to cross her when she was like that.

"Look, Kohaku, as long as you live under the same roof as me, you will follow my rules. If you don't stop complaining, I'll keep on walking you to school until you're sixteen! And I don't care if I have to cross borders in order to be here!" Sango berated her brother, while he looked absolutely terrified by the thought of holding hands with his sister at the age of sixteen. He send Kagome an unsure look, and she tried to give a reassuring one back without Sango seeing. Kohaku was pretty sure Sango wouldn't make good on her threat, but you never quite knew with her.

After Kohaku had run off to unite with some of his friends and to escape the wrath of his sister, Kagome and Sango walked to class while discussing the events of their summer. Sango had been to Europe, to learn about the various demons that had once lurked on the foreign continent, during her vacation and Kagome was eager to hear about the places she had only read about. Of course demons no longer existed, but Sango came from an old and respected line of demon-slayers, and she took their traditional training and teachings very seriously.

"Holland was awesome, even though some people are high most of the time. I went in a store to buy some polishing wax for my Hiraikotsu, but the salesman was so stoned he couldn't even understand me, which was too bad, 'cause he was probably the one with the lowest prices. Italy was amazing. I've never been to a more historical place! There were statues and buildings that were more than 2000 years old! 2000!" Sango exclaimed excitedly. "You could almost picture it, crawling with demons. And Denmark was remarkable. I learned about an eight-legged horse-demon. Father told me they were very powerful and were called Sleipner. If only demons still existed, I would have been an excellent slayer. I would have loved to make such a killing!" Kagome was quick to agree with her, since she could see how much the killing of the horse-demon meant to Sango. "I think I'm going to make some sort of weapon for Kohaku for his birthday, but I'm not sure what kind he would like."

Sango and Kohaku were very close and they told each other everything, but when it came to Kohaku's fear of death and loath of killing, his sister was oblivious. Kagome knew, since her little brother, Souta, knew. He and Kohaku were very close friends and so were Souta and Kagome. Of course, Kagome had to swear not to tell Sango, since Souta had originally sworn not to tell a living soul.

Kagome did her best to keep her mouth shut and merely answered: "Well, I'm sure he'll be happy with anything you give him." She was happy to walk into class at that moment, so she didn't have to think of another subject.

History was the first subject of the day, a nice invitation to take a nap, an invitation that most students took. Kagome would have too, but sadly the only vacant seats were at the front of the class, so she was forced to sit and endure her history teacher's slightly biased view on history. Her teacher was a huge fan of the supernatural, and it showed in her lessons. Today she droned on about portals and time-travel to the past, future and other worlds. Kagome would have loved to just lay down her head and take a nice and much needed little nap, but that would have to wait until next class.

"It's not impossible that there could be portals around the world. Just think of the amazing things we could discover if we went back in time! We could find out about our ancestors, what happened to the demons and how we defended ourselves against them. There are so little known about them. What we should always be aware of is to never mess with the space-time continuum. And time-travel is an interesting theory as well, Einstein played with the idea that…" This went on for another hour or so, and Kagome slowly zoned out and started mulling other things over while staring out of the window, longing to feel the autumn breeze on her face.

Her mother had efficiently chased them away this morning, but in the midst of a boring history class, the thoughts about the confusing and frustrating dreams returned to her. She seemed to recall a man, or at least some kind of being. It was evident in her dreams that this being was important to her and others, but it was like it was dancing along the outskirts of her mind, mocking her and teasing her, because of her inability to summon the mental pictures.

The rest of the day went as first days of school go. Kagome was put up to speed with her friends and their whereabouts and doings throughout the summer and they in return learned of her summer. At the mention of Hojo, the girls went berserk.

"Why haven't you told me anything? You just let me go on and on about Europe when _this_ happened! Tell us everything, all the gory details!"

"Jesus, Sango, let's not hope it's gory!" Yuka said and looked at the slayer with a worried eye.

"Don't worry, girls, I can safely promise I did nothing bad to Hojo or the other way around. Well, you know how he kept asking me out last year, but I couldn't go, because of all the extra work at the shrine?" The girls nodded in unison and waited for her to continue. "I had actually thought he would have lost interest, since I turned him down so often, but he called and asked if I wanted to catch a movie and perhaps take a stroll in the park later." Kagome said all this very calmly, but the truth was that she had been overjoyed and jumped around her room when she received his text. She had gone into a panic when she couldn't call Sango to help her pick out her outfit.

"Strolling in the park by moonlight! Ah, the classics never die." Eri sighed and the rest of the girls had a dreamy look in their eyes as well.

"Yeah, it was very romantic." Kagome said hesitantly. To tell the truth, she wasn't that big on romance, she valued the simple things in life, and clingy guys didn't seem so simple. "So, we went to the cinema, watched a nice romantic comedy and then went to grab a bite on our way home. He followed me home and we said goodnight. That's pretty much it." Kagome was not surprised to find her friends frowning at her. She was never one for storytelling.

"Oh, please don't bore us with the dirty details." Ayumi said, giving Kagome a reproachful look, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "So did he kiss you?" The girls' eyes were glued at her and she reddened with embarrassment.

"Oh, he totally did! It's written all over her face! So, how was it?" Sango asked eagerly.

"Well… Er… Wet?" They all laughed and Kagome laughed along a bit nervously. She knew she wasn't off the hook. "It was nice, he was good at it. It felt special. We're going on another date this weekend." Kagome could feel the butterflies fluttering in her stomach at the thought, and for the rest of the day she could think of nothing else.

* * *

At the end of the school day, Kagome decided to walk home with Sango, Kohaku and Souta instead of taking the bus, much to Sango's delight. The weather was nice and hot, and she would rather be enjoying the last of summer than wasting it. Most of the time they walked together in companionable silence, while Kohaku and Souta walked several paces behind in deep and hushed conversation. They were probably trying to come up with some prank they would pull on some poor classmate. They were a notorious couple. Sango seemed deep in thought, which was unusual for her. Most days she would be trying to pry details about her date with Hojo and how she felt about him out of her defenseless friend. Kagome registered her silence, but figured that Sango would tell her what was on her mind when she was ready. And sure enough, after a couple of minutes, Sango said in an unusually low and unsure voice:

"Kagome, I have something I need to tell you. Something I need your advice about."

Kagome looked at her expectantly, but gave her time to form and collect the words she wanted to say. Just as Sango opened her mouth to continue, but snapped it shut when Kohaku came running up to them.

"Hey, Sango, Souta and I will just run down to a schoolmate of ours. I'll be home in a couple of hours tops!" He watched at her with a pleading look in his eyes. Sango's normal response would be to raise a fuss and forbid him from going, so Kagome wasn't the only one who was surprised when she complied.  
After the boys had run down another street and bid their sisters goodbye, Sango continued:

"It's about Kohaku. And myself, I guess. I've been having these weird dreams, and they leave me so damned tired! I almost didn't make it to school this morning. Kohaku had to shake me until I woke up. I'm afraid that these dreams leave me so tired that I can't take care of Kohaku properly." A frown marred Sango's usually beautiful smooth face. "In the dreams, I find myself in a graveyard and I'm old. Like, really old! White haired and everything. I have this weird feeling that I've lost something... Or someone... I just... I can't figure out _what_! It leaves me SO frustrated! It's so sad, and to be honest, I find myself crying when I wake up."

To say that Kagome was surprised would be an understatement. She stopped right in her tracks and stared openmouthed at Sango.

"Kagome? Kagome, what is it? I knew it, it's bad isn't it? I'm so afraid that it might be some kind of omen. What if I loose Kohaku? What if it's my fault? I couldn't bare to loose him, Kagome! I just can't tell him about it, what if it freaks him out? I should never have let Kohaku out of my sight, I'm so stupid! My mind is just so full of these pictures, they're stuck in my mind, and yet I can't understand them and..." Sango started rambling and looked at her friend with a worried expression.

"No, Sango, stop." Kagome mumbled.

"What?"

"I've been having weird dreams too. About loosing someone. I don't know who or _what_ he is, but I know that he is important. The dreams are so filled with pain and sorrow, and I have this clear feeling that I could have prevented it."

"Exactly!" The girls looked at each other in astonishment and slight fear. They started walking again, both of them lost in thought.

"I don't think you should worry about Kohaku, though. You're not alone, Sango, you have your father too. You shouldn't worry so much about Kohaku, he's a big boy and with both you and your father looking out for him, nothing will happen to him." Sango grimaced. She didn't like to show weakness, especially to her father. He was her idol and she always tried her best to make him proud of her, something he already was, but she was oblivious to. But Kagome's steady assurance and comfort, eased Sango's fears for now.

"This is just too freaky." Kagome nodded in agreement. At this point they had reached Kagome's house, and they said their goodbyes for now. They both had a lot to think about.

When Kagome entered her house after school, she was shocked to see her mother still up. Akira Higurashi, worked as a nurse at the local hospital during the night, and it was unusual to see her up and about at this time of day. Currently she stood in their kitchen with a big mug of coffee by her side and was about to prepare for an early dinner, something that Kagome usually did.

"Hi, mom! What are you doing out of bed? I was surprised not to hear your snoring from outside the house." Kagome yelled jokingly from the hallway. She and Akira had always been close and humor was an essential part of their relationship. When her father had died, Akira had been her only support and her way of dealing with her husband's death and the life of a single mother had been with humor. It made it easier to live and made it possible for her to have a positive and open mind.

"Now, now, young lady! I don't want to hear anything but 'thank you's' from that smart mouth of yours! I've been up 30 hours in a row, just so I could take dinner of your hands for once. Could you go check on your grandpa, he's been suspiciously quiet the last 20 minutes and I'm worried he's trying to open up the well again. You know how he gets when he's in that mood and Souta's too scared of the wellhouse." Akira looked out the kitchen window with a concerned frown on her face.

"Jesus, mom, you always make a fuss when it comes to Souta. He's almost 11! He's too old to be afraid of the dark and he's not home yet. He went to some friend's house with Kohaku."

"Kagome, do I have to remind you how old you were until you stopped sneaking into my bed at night? I don't think you had nightmares every night for _that_ long."

"Alright, alright, I'm going!" Kagome practicaly ran to the door to get away from her mother's embarrasing reminders.

"13, Kagome! 13!" When all she got was a slamming door in response, Akira turned back to her dinner preperations with a smile on her face, while shaking her head.

Kagome huffed when she got outside. Her mother was so overprotective when it came to her littlebrother. Ofcourse, he was a bit of a whimp, but still, someday he would have to grow up. That's what happens when your only rolemodels are grandpa and Justin Bieber. Ew, what a gross combination.  
When Kagome got to the door to the wellhouse, it was most certain that her grandfather was hiding in there. She could hear his hushed mumbling as he sang made-up incantations and she could smell the incens burning. Kagome rolled her eyes and opened the doors much to her grandfathers surprise.

"Ah! Kagome! What are you doing home so early? Go away! It's very dangerous for you to be here! I've almost opened the well and I'm certain I've found the right incantation this time! It was in that old book your mother wanted to throw out and..."

"Grandpa, mom's making dinner and I think she's used that dried dragonfoot you hid in the storageshed." Kagome interrupted her grandfather in his rant. It was better to stop him early, or you wouldn't hear the end of it. Akira usually called it 'removing the kettle from the fire before the water started to boil'.

Grandpa paled at her words and hurried out of the well-house, shouting about disloyalty and the end of the world as we know it. Kagome chuckled to herself. Even though he was old and senile, her grandpa held a very special place in her heart. She was a bit concerned with her mother's reaction, though. She was pretty sure that she would give her hell for upsetting grandpa like that, and for making him mad at Akira in the first place, but she wanted to get back at her for the embarrassing childhood reminder. With a sigh, she turned to close the doors to the well-house, but as she turned to walk up the stairs, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. With a frown on her face, she faced the well and walked towards it, gripping the edge as she reached it. She scanned the room quickly and chuckled softly.

'I'm being paranoid. It's probably just Buyo.' Kagome thought to herself.

"Buyo! Come here, you big furball!" She sat down on her haunches and whisteled, but the huge, tabby, orange cat didn't show itself.

"Suit yourself, kitty, but you'll miss out on mom's delicous leftovers." She stood up with the intention of leaving and turned to walk up the stairs once more, when she thought she heard a faint, rasping voice coming from the well as she felt the room grow colder.

"... The jewel... Give... It... To me..." Kagome stood frozen in place. Either her cat was talking to her or the well was, and she wasn't sure which one she preferred. She made a run for the door and slammed it shut once she was safely outside. She did her best to sum up enough willpower to keep herself from running to the house. She was too proud to let her mom see her running scared from the shed, especially after their last conversation. When she was at the front door, she took three deep, calming breaths before entering.

What a weird day.

* * *

Here we go! Sorry about all the info, but I'm a fan of details and I like to know things beforehand, so you don't just suddenly find out that Sango's mother is dead and stuff like that... Well, hope you still find it interesting! A huge thank you to my reviewers, you were the first to make my stomach do flipflops because of a review! It means a lot and I hope I didn't disappoint too much, even though this chapter is a bit (read a lot!) different from the prologue :)

Hugs and butterfly-kisses  
Inunette

P.S. I've put chapter 1 and 2 together and made some corrections and additions, because I really wanted to make longer chapters. Please leave a review and tell me what you think :) And I know it's been an inexcusably long time since the last time I updated, but I've been without a computer since mid-december... Hope you're not too angry with me ;)


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